Why Is Racism Still Relevant Today

Racism

Racism is one of the world's major issues today. "Nine out of ten people in society today believe that racism does not exist and is something that affects millions of people everyday" (Hutchinson 5). Many people are not aware of how much racism still exists in our schools, workforces, and anywhere else where social lives are occurring. It is obvious that racism is bad as it was many decades ago, but it sure has not gone away. Racism very much exists and it is about time that people need to start thinking about the instigations and solutions to this matter. Many people today live their lives obvious to what is happening in the world around them, often trying to convince themselves that racism is not a problem in their world. Others know all about the problem, but don't really realize that they
themselves could possibly be adding to the problem by discriminating against someone else's human rights, and at the same time going around saying how open minded they are. Many people also believe that it depends on if a person was brought into the world as a racist or not, but that is not the case at all. In fact, an individual cannot be born a racist but only learn to become one as they grow from childhood to adulthood. What is racism really? Racism is not knowing anything about someone when you look at them, but disliking them anyway, not because of who they are, but what they are. Racism is cowardly. More importantly, racism is a weakness and an obvious sign of ignorance. So what is it that makes us racist? More than likely it is fear of the unknown. In other words, it is lack of education. The only way to better this ignorance is to educate oneself. Since racism is learned and not genetic, it is something that needs to be taken care of in school starting form young children. In Brown v. Board of Education, the whole issue was that schools could be segregated only if they were "equal". This was decided by the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. Schools in the South were not equal so Brown v. Board of Education was filed. "Supreme Court Judge Earl Warren decided with the rest of the Supreme Court that segregated schools were in fact unlawful" (Hutchinson 10). Schools went through drastic changes but some schools didn't like the idea. "Schools in Prince Edward County had closed due to the ruling and children in the county lost out on their education"(Hutchinson 10). This had caused some racism to occur in Prince Edward County. The most effective solution for solving the racial tension problem is to change the curriculum, textbooks, and to keep up, if not increase, diversity training in the work force today. First of all, there needs to be an agreement that a problem does exist. It is after all evident through racist groups such as Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, and Skinheads. These are hate groups that threaten and dislike people, not for the content of their character, but the color of their skin or what country they are from. Although these are extremes when it comes to racism, it is something that affects so many people everyday in the United States. That is why the key to solving the problem is not Affirmative Action, or bussing kids around different schools, but instead it is education and starts with the younger generation. The first thing that needs to be done is to update the textbooks and books in general that are read by the students starting from Kindergarten to first grade. The books need to be changed to include different cultures and their positive contributions to life, and not just focusing on one group. Curriculum change is also something that can do some benefit in understanding others. For example, instead of having black history one month, why can't every month have black history in it? Students could learn about black history all year round, and not just condensed into one month. This goes the same for other cultures also. This is something that would along with educating ourselves, help break up stereotypes we have of others. Racism hit its high point in the 1960's and today it is still flooding society.
Throughout schools in America, racism suffocates the classrooms, cafeterias, and hallways. There are many programs aimed at stopping racism but teachers and socialization programs cannot sway the racism out of the children's minds. The children are not the problem. They are the products of what their parents created. From the day a child is born, it is learning from his or her parents. Racism is everywhere and it begins in the home. If a child grows up in a racist household, he or she more than likely will take the traits of his or her parents. If parents teach their children that their race is far superior and other races are evil, that child will grow up believing his or her race is better than other races. Children don't know right from wrong. They do what their parents do and say. If a father tells his young child not to play with the black boy down the block because he says black people are bad then that child will believe his father. Children are fragile and extremely ignorant creatures. Children learn from their parents just like animals do in
nature. In conclusion, parents are the biggest influence in a child's life. Children look to their parents for support and guidance. Without the proper support and guidance, children are headed on a road to nowhere. Racism is not something that will just disappear. However, it is possible to minimize it if we keep it under control. Yes, we can still teach about unity and equality in our schools, but if we don't attack racism where it begins, then those school programs won't be of any value. The problem of racism isn't a permanent problem. Racism is like cancer, if it is caught early enough it could be treated, but if it is caught too late, it could be deadly. Therefore we must attack racism from its source, the household, before it is too late.